Schiff was right. There was Russian collusion

The Clinton campaign, via the law firm Perkins Coie, funded Fusion GPS’s research, which hired Steele to compile the dossier using his Russian contacts. Little in the dossier was ever substantiated, but despite low confidence in the dossier Brennan insisted it be included in the 2017 ICA. From the ODNI:

• CIA Director Brennan and the IC mischaracterized intelligence and relied on dubious, “substandard” sources to create a contrived false narrative that Putin developed “a clear preference” for Trump.
• CIA Director Brennan and the IC misled lawmakers by referencing the debunked Steele Dossier to assess “Russian plans and intentions,” which falsely suggested the dossier had intelligence value.
• The IC excluded “significant intelligence” and “ignored or selectively quoted” reliable intelligence that contradicted the ICA’s key findings on Putin’s alleged support for Trump, that if included, would have exposed the ICA’s claim was “implausible—if not ridiculous.”
• The ICA omitted reliably sourced information, such as how some Russian intelligence officials were “planning for candidate Clinton’s victory” while others assessed “neither Trump nor Clinton” would respect Russian interests.

The media had a field day with that, magnifying its importance to the point that the media was openly asserting that Russia hacked the election.

• Hillary Clinton: Accused Trump’s campaign of collusion, citing Roger Stone’s WikiLeaks ties and alleging Trump was a Russian “asset” (per X posts and campaign statements). Funded the Steele dossier, which alleged Trump-Russia ties.
• Tom Perez: As DNC chairman, filed a 2018 lawsuit alleging Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia and WikiLeaks, claiming a “racketeering enterprise.”
• Adam Schiff: Claimed evidence of collusion (e.g., 2018 statements on Trump Tower meeting), saying, “If it looks like collusion… it probably is collusion.” Cited as calling Trump a Russian “asset” on X.
• Eric Swalwell: Argued in 2018 that Trump campaign-Russia contacts strengthened collusion claims, citing WikiLeaks and Russian figures (per X posts and interviews).
• Jackie Speier: Tweeted in 2018, “If it looks like collusion… it probably is collusion,” implying Trump campaign coordination with Russia and WikiLeaks.

• Neera Tanden: Stated in 2020 that the Senate report “confirms” Trump’s collusion, citing Manafort’s Russian ties, overstating the report’s findings.
• Richard Blumenthal: Claimed “secret evidence” of Trump’s collusion in 2018, as cited in X posts and a Trump campaign letter.
• Elizabeth Warren: Allegedly called Trump a Russian “asset” on TV (per X posts), implying collusion, though no direct quote was found in provided sources.
• Jerrold Nadler: Claimed in 2017 on CNN that evidence suggested Trump campaign collusion, pushing for investigations (per Trump campaign letter).
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Supported the DNC’s 2018 lawsuit alleging Trump campaign-Russia conspiracy, named in Trump’s 2022 lawsuit for pushing a “Democratic conspiracy.”
• John Podesta: Accused Trump’s campaign of collusion in a 2017 op-ed and interviews, citing advance knowledge of WikiLeaks releases and supporting the DNC’s conspiracy lawsuit.

Without any doubt Brennan knew that his actions would ignite the feeding frenzy and undermine Trump – and IMO that was his intention. democrats now deny that the dossier was used in the ICA but it most certainly was. Also without a doubt it was Barack Obama who ordered the alteration in the ICA to include the dossier.

• On December 5, 2016, the FBI and ODNI gave HPSCI its first post-election classified briefing, in which there was “no mention of Putin ‘aspiring’ to elect Trump” by either agency.
• The President’s Daily Brief (PDB) drafted on December 8, 2016 stated that no Russian or criminal actors impacted vote counts. This document was pulled hours before it was to be published due to “new guidance.” If it had been published, it would have been briefed to both President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump.
• On December 9, 2016, a National Security Council meeting was called with President Obama’s senior national security officials, which included CIA Director John Brennan, DNI James Clapper, Susan Rice, Andrew McCabe and others.
• After the December 9, 2016 secret meeting of Obama national security officials, DNI Clapper’s assistant sent an email to leaders in the IC with the subject line “POTUS tasking on Russia Election Meddling,” and tasking to create a new “assessment per the President’s request.”
• The HPSCI oversight report reveals that, “unlike routine IC analysis, the ICA was a high-profile product ordered by the President, directed by senior IC agency heads, and created by just five analysts, using one principal drafter. Production of the ICA was subject to unusual directives from the President and senior political appointees, and particularly DCIA.”
• Later that same day, Brennan ordered the inclusion of “substandard reporting” on Russian activities, which had previously been withheld from publication because the information was judged “to have not met longstanding publication standards.” Some of the information was, later used in the ICA, over the objections of veteran CIA officers, because it was “unclear, or from unknown subsources.”